By Andy McCullough, Patrick Mooney and Tyler Kepner
In 2018, Major League Baseball unveiled its Executive of the Year Award. The honor tends to go to the chief baseball officer of a team that exceeded expectations in a given season. Billy Beane, the protagonist of “Moneyball” and the archetype for the modern venerated executive, was the inaugural recipient. Baltimore Orioles general manager Mike Elias took the honors last season after his club won 101 games and the American League East.
Any executive will tell you, of course, that no one individual deserves all the credit. A front office features dozens of employees with differing, conflicting tasks. There are scouts and analysts and player-development gurus. There are resources devoted to the acquisition of players, the improvement of players, the health of players. These are elaborate ecosystems that can be challenging to maintain.
So we figured it was worth asking, as the 2024 season got underway, which teams do it the best?
For this exercise, The Athletic canvassed 40 executives across the sport. Many had experience as the primary decision-maker for a team, either in the past or the present. We asked each executive to rank the top five front offices in baseball and assigned a point value to each position — 10 points for first place, seven points for second place, five points for third, three points for fourth and one point for fifth. The answers spanned big markets and small. Some of these franchises have experienced incredible turnover. Some are the model of stability. Some of these front office groups have been doing this for quite a while. And some are just getting started.
But there was one clear favorite.
Total points: 284
First-place votes: 19
President of baseball operations:
Andrew Friedman
When Andrew Friedman left Tampa Bay for Los Angeles in the fall of 2014, he inherited a treasure trove of talent from Ned Colletti. Almost all those stars are gone a decade later, except for Clayton Kershaw. So are Farhan Zaidi, Alex Anthopoulos and Gabe Kapler, who acted as Friedman’s primary lieutenants in those early years. The organization remains a juggernaut, with Friedman now supplemented by general manager Brandon Gomes, assistant general managers Jeff Kingston and Alex Slater, and longtime advisor Josh Byrnes.
The Dodgers have never missed the postseason under Friedman’s watch, winning the division in eight of nine seasons, collecting three pennants and ending the franchise’s championship drought in 2020. One executive described a first-place vote for the Dodgers as “self-explanatory. They are elite at everything.” Billy Gasparino, the scouting director recently promoted to vice president of baseball operations, has drafted well despite picking in the latter half of the first round every summer. The farm system continues to churn out prospects. The roster tends to be well-managed. Friedman often corrects big-league deficiencies with midseason acquisitions; the stars he has acquired at the deadline include Max Scherzer, Trea Turner and Manny Machado.
“One of the things he does so well is knowing which stars to sign,” another executive said. With the notable exception of Trevor Bauer, Friedman has aced that assignment in recent years by landing Mookie Betts, Freddie Freeman and Shohei Ohtani. In part, another executive explained, that stems from the front office’s “insane discipline,” not wasting resources on mid-tier players so that when a star becomes available, the team can pounce.
“Andrew,” another executive said, “is the best at this.”
No. 2 — Tampa Bay Rays
Total points: 258
First-place votes: 12
President of baseball operations:
Erik Neander
When the Rays first emerged as a low-budget marvel in the late 2000s, the franchise relied on the leadership structure of owner Stu Sternberg, president Matt Silverman and general manager Andrew Friedman. Friedman departed in 2014. The collection of future decision-makers he hired includes Chaim Bloom, James Click, Matt Arnold, Peter Bendix and Erik Neander. Only Neander remains with the Rays, occupying Friedman’s former chair as the head of baseball operations.
Despite the turnover, the Rays continue to innovate and regenerate. The team has won 90 or more games in four of the past five full seasons and reached the World Series in the pandemic-shortened 2020 campaign. The roster has cycled through stars like Evan Longoria, David Price and Blake Snell. The franchise competes so consistently, on such a small budget, that one executive said it was obvious why rival owners reach into the Rays’ front office when making hires.
“You look at owners around baseball and what do they want? They want the intellectual property of the Rays,” the executive said. “It’s almost too attractive: ‘We can win without spending anything.’ But they constantly acquire undervalued guys, they get the most out of their players and they make the tough decisions.”
Sternberg may not make splashes in free agency, but the Rays do support a robust scouting department. Those scouts help the club make good choices when evaluating other clubs. Neander’s willingness to deal quality players pains him — it is also what keeps his club competitive. One executive described the Rays as “the scariest team in the league to trade with. Have developed well, great pro scouting department and very good at roster building. The pieces always make sense together on their major-league team.”
Total points: 130
First-place votes: 3
President of baseball operations:
Alex Anthopoulos
Alex Anthopoulos likes to refer to his two years with the Dodgers in 2016 and 2017 as a form of baseball graduate school. He had been a successful executive with the Toronto Blue Jays, ending the franchise’s 21-year postseason drought in 2015 before walking away from the gig that winter. He had always been, as one executive put it, “very aggressive” in his willingness to deal. When he took over the Braves heading in 2018, he married that quality with wisdom gleaned from his previous stops.
“Alex Anthopoulos does a tremendous job,” one executive said. “There’s nobody more engaged, open and honest about things. He’s had stops along the way and he’s adapted and learned over time.”
He has built something of a juggernaut in Atlanta through a series of canny trades and swift contract extensions for cornerstones like Ronald Acuña Jr., Ozzie Albies, Austin Riley, Matt Olson and Sean Murphy. After winning the World Series in 2021, Anthopoulos pivoted out of talks with first baseman Freddie Freeman and swung a trade for Olson. The maneuver stunned the industry but further demonstrated Anthopoulos’ decisiveness.
“Alex Anthopoulos knows what he wants and moves quickly in the offseason,” one executive said.
Some executives raised questions about whether the team will continue to draft well now that former scouting director Dana Brown has left to run the Astros. The good news for the Braves: With all those long-term extensions, the roster won’t require much mending for a while.
Total points: 101
First-place votes: 2
President of baseball operations:
Chris Antonetti
At the top, there is stability. Chris Antonetti, the president of baseball operations, has worked for Cleveland since 1999. General manager Mike Chernoff joined as an intern in 2003. The list of prominent executives to spend time in Cleveland in the interim is impressive, a group that includes Derek Falvey of the Minnesota Twins, David Stearns of the New York Mets and Carter Hawkins of the Chicago Cubs.
The Guardians face a set of challenges. Owner Paul Dolan tends not to spend much. The team has drawn more than two million fans to Progressive Field just once since 2009. Cleveland is not exactly a bustling coastal metropolis (though there are many excellent restaurants near the ballpark). “Just look at the market they’re in,” one executive said. “And look at what they’ve done over the last 15 years, how much they’ve won. It’s pretty remarkable.”
Cleveland’s primary baseball product has been pitchers, a lineage stretching from Corey Kluber to Shane Bieber to Emmanuel Clase. The front office tends to target arms with upside in trades and maximize them at the big-league level.
“They know what they’re good at, and they’re very consistent at being who they are,” one executive said.
No. 5 — Baltimore Orioles
Total points: 91
First-place votes: 3
President of baseball operations:
Mike Elias
Mike Elias’ crew received a mixture of responses. Some rivals harrumphed about the path Elias and fellow former Jeff Luhnow lieutenant Sig Mejdal took toward building the Orioles. The franchise endured three wretched seasons before emerging as upstarts in 2022 and winning the American League East in 2023. If you draft in the top five every summer, some grumbled, you should land quality talent like Adley Rutschman and Jackson Holliday.
Others, of course, were more charitable (and able to note that Gunnar Henderson was actually a second-round pick): The Orioles, one executive explained, “have picked high but have more than taken advantage of it. Players get better in their programs in the minor leagues and they have turned dials in the big leagues as well.” It’s not just the first-round talent flourishing. Kyle Bradish, a fourth-round choice in 2018, has emerged as a potential front-line starter. Elias has assembled an excellent bullpen. And he displayed the patience necessary to land Brewers ace Corbin Burnes this past winter, putting the Orioles in better position to contend for a title — all while still boasting enough talent on the farm to rank No. 1 on Keith Law’s preseason list.
“They never tried to push too fast, let it all evolve, and they’re going to reap the benefits of that patience for a long time,” another executive said.
No. 6 — Milwaukee Brewers
Total points: 52
First-place votes: 0
General manager:
Matt Arnold
In their first 48 years of existence, the Brewers made the postseason just four times. The club has reached the postseason five times in the past six seasons, a run that didn’t end after David Stearns stepped down after the 2022 season. Matt Arnold, who spent time working with Andrew Friedman in Tampa Bay, filled the void as Milwaukee coasted to another National League Central title.
Only once in this recent run, in 2018, has owner Mark Attanasio authorized a payroll that ranked in the sport’s top 12. The team typically gets outspent by about 20 other clubs but remains formidable. “The Brewers are consistently good on a small payroll,” one executive said.
This past winter, Arnold made the sort of choice that Stearns will likely no longer need to make in his new role running the Mets: Arnold dealt former Cy Young Award winner Corbin Burnes for a collection of younger, less-heralded players who are expected to keep the club afloat in 2024 and beyond. The team has demonstrated an ability to develop pitchers and the farm system entered this season ranked No. 2 in baseball by Law.
The Brewers, another executive said, are “exceptionally resourceful and smart. Do what they do really well and don’t try to be something they are not.”
Total points: 43
First-place votes: 1
President of baseball operations:
Mike Hazen
Mike Hazen, a Massachusetts native, turned down the chance to pursue the Red Sox’s opening this past winter. Fresh off a surprising jaunt to the World Series, Hazen received a contract extension from owner Ken Kendrick, who extended similar deals to assistant general managers Amiel Sawdaye and Mike Fitzgerald. Hazen’s group has earned plaudits for handling a challenging geographic situation — specifically, playing in a division ruled by the Dodgers — by making shrewd signings (plucking Merrill Kelly out of Korea), sound trades (like dealing Jazz Chisolm Jr. for Zac Gallen) and hitting on top draft choices (Corbin Carroll at No. 16 in 2019).
“They do a great job with the challenges they have and the division they’re in,” one executive said.
No. 8 (tie)— Minnesota Twins
Total points: 20
First-place votes: 0
President of baseball operations:
Derek Falvey
The word “culture” comes up often in discussions about the Twins, who have been helmed by president of baseball operations Derek Falvey and general manager Thad Levine since the fall of 2016. People like working in the front office. Players like the atmosphere inside the clubhouse fostered by manager Rocco Baldelli. Falvey has succeeded in transferring some aspects of the pitching development system he previously helped run in Cleveland, but the greater success may be fostering an environment that generates good cheer and the occasional American League Central crown.
“Everybody who goes there loves it,” one executive said. “You hear it from every player who played for them. Derek Falvey has done a lot of hard work from a culture standpoint, and it’s made a difference.”
Another executive described Falvey as “one of the most exceptional leaders out there.”
Total points: 20
First-place votes: 0
General manager:
Chris Young
In his first full season in charge, Chris Young won the World Series. He had joined the Rangers in December 2020 as Jon Daniels’ primary deputy. Daniels was fired midway through 2022, with many of the pieces of the future title winner in place, including prospects drafted by scouting director Kip Fagg and raised by farm director Josh Bonifay.
One executive praised Young for his aggressive pursuit of free agents. He pitched a vision of revival to Corey Seager and Marcus Semien heading into 2022. (The combined $500 million forked over by owner Ray Davis helped clarify that vision.) At last year’s trade deadline, Young displayed similar aggressiveness, dealing away prospects to land Jordan Montgomery and Max Scherzer, who aided the title pursuit.
Total points: 19
First-place votes: 0
General manager:
Brian Cashman
“Brian Cashman,” one executive said, “is severely underrated.”
Perhaps even on this list. The Yankees have not experienced a losing season since Cashman took over the baseball operations department in 1998. Rival fans can chalk up all the success to spending, and Yankees fans can feel frustrated that the team has not been back to the World Series since 2009. Cashman’s peers still marvel at his team’s ability to overcome down cycles that affect every club. While the farm system has fallen short in terms of producing stars, the pipeline has sent forth enough quality big-league players for Cashman to acquire talent through trades.
“They don’t get enough credit for the engine they’ve built to support their spending at the major-league level,” another executive said.
Others receiving votes
No. 11 —
Philadelphia Phillies (10 points)
Several executives went out of their way to praise Philadelphia Phillies president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski, the dapper wheeler-dealer who has taken four different franchises to the World Series. “People s— all over him,” one executive said. “Didn’t go to an Ivy League school, blah, blah, blah. But it’s like that old Winston Churchill quote: ‘However beautiful the strategy, you should occasionally look at the results.’”
No. 12 —
Seattle Mariners (6 points)
Jerry Dipoto is famed for his affinity for trades, but the Mariners found franchise cornerstone Julio Rodríguez on the international amateur market while drafting rotation mainstays Logan Gilbert, George Kirby and Bryce Miller.
No. 13—
Houston Astros (5 points)
The Astros were hampered by upheaval. The team has reached the American League Championship Series in seven consecutive seasons despite employing three different chief executives: Jeff Luhnow (fired after the sign-stealing scandal in 2020), James Click (dismissed after winning the 2022 World Series) and Dana Brown.
No. 14—
Detroit Tigers (4 points)
The success of president of baseball operations Scott Harris may well depend on several players chosen in the top five by his predecessor, Al Avila. The Tigers lost for a good long while before Harris was hired, which put the team in position to draft players like Riley Greene and Spencer Torkelson. Harris was aggressive this spring in signing infielder Colt Keith to a six-year, $28.6 million deal before Keith debuted in the majors.
No. 15 (tie) —
Cincinnati Reds (1 point)
The Reds are on the cusp of contention thanks to the players acquired by president of baseball operations Nick Krall through the draft (Nick Lodolo, Andrew Abbott, Hunter Greene) and trades (Will Benson, Spencer Steer, Jake Fraley). And if Elly De La Cruz can put together a full season that resembles his first few months of 2023, the franchise will have a superstar plucked from the international market, too.
No. 15 (tie) —
New York Mets (1 point)
One executive described a fifth-place vote for the Mets as “purely a vote of confidence for David Stearns,” who spent his first offseason with access to owner Steve Cohen’s checkbook fortifying the edges of his 40-man roster rather than swinging for the fences in free agency.
Did not receive votes:
Red Sox,
Blue Jays,
Royals,
White Sox,
Athletics,
Angels,
Nationals,
Marlins,
Cardinals,
Padres,
Rockies,
Giants,
Pirates,
Cubs
One executive summed up the ephemeral nature of this endeavor: “Is Oakland terrible? Five years ago, they were top five. Is that them, or what they’re dealing with?” Indeed, for many of the clubs that did not merit consideration, it is hard to separate the front office from the sway held by ownership. One of the primary responsibilities of a chief baseball executive is managing upward — getting your owner to buy into, both literally and figuratively, your vision for how to run a club. Some owners are more difficult to sway than others.
—The Athletic’s Jayson Stark contributed to this story.
(Top illustration of Erik Neander, Alex Anthopolous and Andrew Friedman: John Bradford / The Athletic; Mike Carlson, Adam Hagy and Harry How / Getty Images)
